Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how graduate employment and earnings data are used by (1) the Office for Students, and (2) the Department for Education, when assessing course quality, value for money and student number controls; and whether early-career earnings are used as a primary proxy for course value in the assessment of creative subjects.

The Office for Students and the department measure graduate employment and earnings outcomes using multiple data sources including the Graduate Outcomes Survey and Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data. The OfS uses Condition B3 measures to help monitor and ensure course quality, which in particular includes progression to high-skilled employment. The LEO publication data measures outcomes 3, 5 and 10 years after graduation, and helps inform research on value for money in higher education. Course value in all subjects is informed by a wide range of factors, including graduate earnings at different points in graduates’ careers. Student number controls are no longer an active policy.